


Of Eskimo Kisses and Eeyores

by chellefic



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Community: kissbingo, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-08-02
Updated: 2010-08-02
Packaged: 2017-10-29 10:34:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/318960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chellefic/pseuds/chellefic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For the Kiss Bingo prompt of eskimo kiss. John babysits.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Eskimo Kisses and Eeyores

“I”m going to get you,” John says.

Torren looks at him for just a moment before taking off toward the door as fast as little legs will carry him.

John crawls after him -- with Torren running and John crawling they’re about evenly matched-- and catches him a couple of feet from the door. Sitting back on his knees, he scoops a laughing Torren up in his arms and blows a kiss onto the bit of toddler tummy exposed by Torren’s shirt riding up.

Putting Torren back on his feet, John wiggles his fingers in the universal threat for tickling. Torren takes off in the other direction and John watches him for a moment. He still remembers taking a newborn Torren from Teyla’s arms to fly them off of the hive ship and now Torren is running. Sort of.

John crawls after him, tickling just enough to get a high-pitched laugh from Torren before letting him escape.

The next time he catches him, John lifts Torren in his arms and rubs his nose to Torren’s before setting him back on his feet.

John could play this game all day.

But Torren is clearly running out of energy after a few more rounds and this time when John catches him, John asks, "How about some fruit?"

"Nana," Torren says decisively. It's the Lantean name for a long reddish fruit found on PT7-045. It looks like a banana and the texture is similar but the taste is nothing like bananas. It tastes kind of like green beans, which John firmly believes is not how a banana should taste, even a red one.

"All right, but you have to sit at the table." Teyla is adamant about that and John follows her rules to a 'T' when he's babysitting.

He doesn't bother with the high chair, just puts Torren in a "big person" chair next to his. The edge of the table is just below the level of Torren's chin but he grins and slaps the table with his hands to a rhythm John can't hear.

John peels a nana and hands it to him.

"Thank you," Torren says.

Smiling, John says, "You're welcome," and sits next to Torren.

Torren eats with careful deliberation, studying the nana between bites as if counting down how many are left before he reaches the bottom. When there are just a couple of bites left, he frowns at the fruit for a moment before taking a bite so big John's afraid he's going to choke. He watches Torren chew with his hand halfway to his radio, poised to call the infirmary at the first sign of trouble.

But Torren chews it all, swallows, and then turns to John. "Pooh, now, Uncle John."

"Sure, kiddo," John says, and he knows he's probably beaming, but there isn't anyone to see. It's not like he went out of his way to introduce Torren to the joys of Winnie the Pooh and friends. And if you ask him, John will deny being the purchaser of the Winnie the Pooh pajamas Torren has proclaimed are his favorite.

They settle into a chair with Torren on John's lap. He knows Winnie the Pooh is still a little advanced for Torren, but John does the voices just like they sounded in the old Disney Pooh cartoons, or at least as close as John can get. And he's pretty sure that makes up for it. That and the fact that Torren is clearly very smart, which Rodney has naturally claimed credit for.

They're up to the chapter about Eeyore losing his house. Torren points at the pictures, naming the characters and the pile of sticks that is Eeyore's house.

"Eeyore should have an Uncle John to play with," Torren announces after they discover Eeyore's house is missing. "Then he wouldn't be sad."

John doesn't say anything, but that's not because his chest is tight. Really, it's not.

Eventually, the pointing and the commentary taper off, and Torren drifts into sleep against John's shoulder.

John keeps reading.


End file.
